


Adrinette April: Clap of Thunder

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Slight Hurt, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-12-30 12:25:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 20,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18315227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: Frustrated with her current lack of progress pursuing her long-time crush Adrien Agreste, Marinette has a heart to heart with Tikki and soon finds that her luck has begun to change.This work follows the Adrinette April prompt list to form one cohesive story. Chapter titles will be that day's prompt.





	1. Just Friends

Marinette threw herself onto her bed and groaned. “He said it _again_ , Tikki.” She rolled over to look at her kwami, hugging a pillow all the while. “I don’t know how much more of this my heart can take.”

“I know it’s rough, but look on the bright side! If he considers you a friend then that means he likes you as a person.” Her chosen groaned again and rolled over to face away from her. Zipping over to keep in front of her, Tikki continued, “Okay, maybe that doesn’t sound like much right now, but Alya didn’t think of Nino as more than a friend and look where they are now!”

There it was, what Tikki had been struggling to foster in her charge - hope. Marinette sat up, still clutching the pillow. “You’re right! Maybe there _is_ a chance for us. But…” She glanced to the side nervously, “...how?”

“Well, sometimes love is like a clap of thunder - sudden and powerful, taking people by surprise. That’s how it happened with you.” She poked her charge on the nose, teasing a smile out of her. “But for others, love is like a tree - slow to reach maturity, never noticing the small growth spurts until you find yourself under its shade.”

Slowly relinquishing her hold on the pillow, Marinette furrowed her brow in thought. “And you think Adrien might be more of a… tree to my thunder?”

“Precisely! And you’ll just have to trust me when I say he cares about you in his own way - you two just aren’t speaking the same language is all.”

That drew an honest laugh out of Marinette. “Really? And here I thought we were both speaking French.”

Giggling, Tikki shook her head and replied, “No no - _love_ language, Marinette. You show your love by giving gifts of time and energy. Who knows how Adrien expresses his feelings for the people he loves?”

“You’re right.” She let go of the pillow to gently catch Tikki with both her hands, nuzzling the kwami close to her face. “Thank you. I needed that.”

“I’m happy to help. You two will be an excellent match for each other, I can already tell! But now the question is - what will you do from here?”

She shrugged, the warm smile she wore wavering. “I don’t know. But I can tell you one thing,” Her doubt melted away and in its place came a fresh resolve and new determination. “I’m not giving up on Adrien. Somehow, someway, I will make sure he understands how much I love him.”


	2. Seat Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slight rewrite of the end of Chameleon where the new seating arrangement sticks.

“Marinette?” 

Ms. Bustier called her name and Adrien was surprised when she didn’t answer. His deskmate seemed to be staring off into the distance, probably continuing the daydream that he’d interrupted when he took a seat next to her. Just as Ms Bustier was about to call her name again, he nudged her with his elbow and whispered:

“Marinette, Ms. Bustier is calling your name.”

She jolted at his touch and it took her a moment to process what he had said. Rocking forward onto her feet, she exclaimed, “P-present!” 

The rest of the class giggled at her, while Adrien simply smiled since he’d done something similar in the past. She blushed in embarrassment, which tugged at his heartstrings. With class beginning in earnest, they couldn’t talk out loud anymore but… the teacher’s attention was directed towards the blackboard right now. Adrien pulled out a notebook and scrawled a quick message before pushing it over to Marinette.

 **Adrien:** You feeling okay? You seem a bit out of it.

He felt even more justified in asking when he had to prod her elbow with the notebook before she even noticed it. When she finally did, her eyes widened ever so slightly. She wrote a reply and pushed it back to him.

 **Marinette:** Sorry! I’m kinda scatter brained right now. Lila is really getting to me and I was kinda expecting to be back here alone. 

Understandable. To a person as honest and hardworking as Marinette, someone like Lila was like a slap to the face in human form. While Adrien was used to that sort of thing from his upbringing, Lila’s clinginess didn’t exactly ingrain her with him either. Even when he tried to gently coax her away from her lies she hadn’t been willing to back down. After a couple minutes, he replied and passed the notebook back.

 **Adrien:** I get it. But people like that always get caught up in their own lies in the end.

Her response was swift and born of worry, if the look on her face was any indication.

 **Marinette:** In the end, yeah. But I don’t want to lose the friends I have now over this.

The thought of people turning on her hadn’t crossed his mind and he got strangely defensive over her as he wrote back.

 **Adrien:** Well, you won’t have to worry about me. I’m behind you, 100%.

His eyes remained fixed on her when he passed it back to her, carefully watching her worry give way to a tender smile. The full radiance of it hit him when she looked at him, a flash of surprise in her eyes when she noticed him looking back. She seemed about to whisper something when they were interrupted.

“Adrien, Marinette. I know you two are in the back, but please try to pay attention, okay?”

“Yes, Ms. Bustier!” They replied in unison, their cheeks tinged pink when several of their classmates turned back to look at them. Alya and Nino seemed pleased, Nino even offering a thumbs up, but Lila and Chloe simply glared. 

Adrien sighed, but his embarrassment was quickly forgotten when Marinette continued the written conversation, wisely deciding to switch into lighter topics. He could already tell moving back here had been a good choice on his part - even if he sensed trouble coming from Lila and Chloe. 

After all, there was something about Marinette that was… simply miraculous.


	3. Embarrassing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes on a delightful walk through the park on a beautiful, sunny day.

The sun was shining on a bright, warm day - so summery was the late spring day that Marinette had even passed on putting on her usual black jacket. Two weeks had passed with the new seating arrangement. This was despite a few attempts by Lila to shuffle around again - Ms. Bustier refused since she wanted to be sure that Lila was close at hand to make sure her numerous absences and afflictions didn’t hinder her performance. 

While Marinette missed the time spent with her best friend, she felt it was a worthy trade for getting to pass notes and joke around with Adrien. It wasn’t hard to find time with Alya - they still hung out at lunch and afterschool, not to mention working together on projects. But right now this was more than she had hoped for with Adrien. It might have just been her imagination, but she was almost certain Adrien was happy with their placement too. He was laughing around her more often, a melody that Marinette wanted to hear for the rest of her life. It was a sound that reminded her of saplings taking root.

His laughter was what she was thinking about while she was taking a walk through the park. Normally, Alya would join her on these little jaunts to watch Adrien’s public photoshoots, but she’d gotten a tip from someone (she wouldn’t say who) about some juicy gossip concerning Ladybug. While she knew it was probably fake, how could she tell Alya that? She didn’t like letting her friend waste a Saturday afternoon like that, but her secret identity had to come first. 

Her good mood evaporated when she saw Chloe and Lila appear. She was surprised only for a moment at the two of them hanging out. While they were both awful, that at least meant that they had something in common. It didn’t take them too long to spot her - there wasn’t a lot of cover to be had and Marinette wasn’t about to hide from them. Which reminded Marinette of another common ground between them: hatred of her. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe spat, Lila standing beside her with narrowed eyes peering over her sunglasses, holding a tall plastic cup of ice water in her hand. Seemed like a hassle to carry around, but Marinette shrugged it off.

“Chloe.” Marinette crossed her arms. “I see you’ve managed to make a friend.”

“Turns out we both have a distaste of people getting too high above their station.” She took a step forward that Marinette assumed was supposed to be menacing, but Marinette had learned that there are far more terrifying things in the world than the bratty daughter of a mayor. “I’ll make this simple, Dupain-Cheng. Stop talking to Adrien.”

“And if I don’t?”

Chloe smiled, an expression lacking anything but vicious satisfaction. “Lila?”

The other girl took a dainty sip of her tall plastic cup and in one swift motion threw the rest of it on Marinette’s pretty white blouse. Her mouth fell open as she watched in mortification while the material became semi-translucent, almost making her forget how bitterly cold the liquid was. She was still ten, maybe twenty minutes away from home in wet clothes. 

“I told you that you’d regret crossing me.” Lila tossed aside the plastic cup to the ground. “Best scuttle home, little bug, before Adrien sees.”

Oh _no_. If Adrien saw her like this… her cheeks heated up and she ran away with the sound of cruel laughter at her back, arms crossed tightly over her chest and tears beginning to sting at the corners of her eyes. But, when her luck runs out, it runs out _hard_. When she rounded a corner, she collided face first with a certain blonde boy, sending them both reeling.

It was one of the few moments in her life that she wished his beautiful summer-green eyes _weren’t_ on her. “Sorry, are you okay- Wait, Marinette? What’s wrong?” 

She blurted out, “Nothing!” Then she was running again, hoping that she could find the least embarrassing way home possible. 

All Adrien had seen was one of his best friends hurting and running away. So he did what came naturally to him - he gave chase.


	4. Hide Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien chases after Marinette, who is unusually good at escaping and hiding.

Adrien’s worry only increased as he searched through the park, chasing after Marinette. As it turns out, she was very good at disappearing when she wanted to. At least the park was only sparsely occupied today, despite the good weather. If there had been a crowd, it would’ve been easy to lose her entirely. Every time he considered giving up, he remembered the tears glistening in her eyes and his determination doubled down. No matter what, he couldn’t leave without making sure she was alright. 

It was a miracle he was actually here today and able to be there for Marinette. The photoshoot that had been planned for today had been cancelled and Adrien had been looking forward to having a Saturday free for once. Then Chloe had called him, wanting him to hang out in the park. While he had been dreading that meeting, at least now he had a good excuse for bailing on her. 

He winced - he shouldn’t be looking at the positives of his friend being in distress, especially not until he was sure she was alright. Not for the first time recently, he wondered when he had come to dread being around Chloe. Before he went to school, he was always excited to meet with his only friend on the outside that his father would let him have. Even then, Adrien suspected it was because Chloe’s mother had been a friend of his mother - not even his father would get in the way of that connection. Or maybe he had just been hoping that they’d get together and make him even more money.

Either way, now he knew what Chloe was like - a full year of lycee, watching her interact with other students, had made that clear. Every day it became more and more difficult to make excuses for her, especially with how she and Marinette clashed. If someone as sweet and caring as Marinette didn’t get along with someone, then there had to be good reason for it. 

The reminder of such a good person, crying and alone in the park, helped focus him. He caught the sound of sniffling nearby and slowed down, moving as quietly as he could. Marinette was sitting on the ground in a hidden corner, knees pulled up to her face. Although he couldn’t see much, his cheeks heated up as he realized _why_ she had fled - her top was still very much wet. 

He sat down next to her without her noticing and she only looked up when he draped his jacket over her shoulders.


	5. Clumsy

“A-adrien…?” Marinette pulled the jacket around her tightly and buttoned up the front. It was already getting damp, but it shouldn’t get too wet. More than anything she was grateful for the gesture. 

“Sorry if you wanted to be alone, but…” He put a hand on her back tentatively, as if worried he was overstepping his bounds, “...I wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed pretty upset back there and I can kinda see why.” Marinette felt disappointed when he pulled back his hand. “Care to talk about it?”

“I’m feeling better now, thanks. This jacket really helps, but…” She dabbed at the fabric on the front to confirm her fears, “...I’m sorry I’m getting it wet.”

He snorted. “Oh don’t worry about that. I have plenty of that exact shirt. You can even keep it if you really want to.” He leaned forward to look her in the face. “So what happened?”

“Well…” While she wanted to open herself up to Adrien, how would he handle being the impetus for another round of bullying by Chloe and Lila? “...I’m not sure if you want to hear about it.”

“Ah.” Adrien looked as if he had just bitten into a lemon. “So it had to do with Chloe then.” He stood up and Marinette got worried before he turned around and offered her a hand up. “Let me make it up to you then. Do you want to go on a walk for a while? Unless you’d rather go home immediately and get change.”

A brief assessment of her situation later - reasonably warm, already drying off, jacket covering any exposure - and she had her answer. “That sounds great!”

They settled into a comfortable banter, keeping the conversation alive while saying nothing of any real importance. To her surprise, she slowly emerged from her shell as their discussion on Mecha Strike tactics meandered into a debate on favorite game genres. It was something that she had never learned from the magazine articles about him, something so mundane yet personal that she could only learn from chatting with him. Somehow, it almost felt like she was being let in on a deeply guarded secret.

“Wait, so you didn’t have a photoshoot today after all?” She pouted and mumbled, just barely audibly, “That was my entire reason for coming out today.”

“Well, if you’re so disappointed, we could have our own little photoshoot.” He grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her towards a fountain. The scenery was familiar to her - how many photoshoots had he had out here? She’d even crashed one of them, before Stormy Weather had ruined it. 

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Surely he had to be tired of taking pictures here? She made a half-hearted attempt at pulling away, but Adrien simply shook his head.

“Trust me, it’s no trouble.” Seeing her slightly dubious look, he added, “I’ve never just gone out and taken pictures with a friend before, you know? I just want to have fun with it, without fearing my father grumbling about a ruined shoot.”

She looked at him wide-eyed before nodding and pulling out her phone. Taking weird, unattractive pictures with friends - yet another thing that Marinette had taken for granted and that Adrien had never gotten to experience. “Alright, Mr. Model, how about you, uh, go and strike a few poses for me. Please?” 

The poses that he chose were not ones that would ever grace the teen magazines that he frequently appeared in. Certainly, they weren’t ones his father would ever approve of. But what they _were_ was silly. An over the top sort of silly, the product of an imagination in overdrive from having to sit still and smile while cameras flashed all around him. After a couple minutes of ridiculousness, she couldn’t hold it in any more - she broke down laughing. He ended his last pose sitting on the ridge of the fountain, wearing one of his increasingly more common genuine smiles when she got one last picture in before getting lost to the giggles entirely.

He waved her over, still smiling at her hunched-over form. She’d resorted to putting her hands on her knees for support as she laughed hard. “Well come on! Let’s see the results of our hard work. We gotta get these to the printers ASAP.”

Eventually she got control of herself again and started walking towards him, the odd errant giggle still managing to escape all the while.

Just before she reached him, her feet tripped over thin air and she went tumbling forward - and right into him. Now, while he was seated on the fountain, his feet were pulled up. This meant that when she collided with him, he was easily pushed straight into the fountain filled with water. He jumped to his feet the moment after he got dunked, but the damage was done; he was completely soaked. 

Her hands flew to her face, covering her mouth, cheeks a solid red. “Oh my god, Adrien, I’m so so so so so sorry! Please don’t hate me!” She wished nothing more than the ability to melt into the shadows and disappear. 

“Hey, it’s alright. Accidents happen. Though, uh, if you don’t mind, could we head over to my place?” He flashed her an uncertain smile. “I don’t think I can deal with wet clothes as well as you can.”

She nodded vigorously. “Right, of course, I’ll- Wait. ‘We’? You want me to come with you?”

“Well, yeah. If you don’t want to, then that’s fine but…” 

“No, no! That’s great! Awesome even!” She winced. “Let’s… let’s just get you out of those clothes.” The blush returned as the implications hit her. “And into dry ones! Immediately.”

He couldn’t help but crack a smile at her rambling. “Cool! Let’s get going then. My place isn’t too far away.”


	6. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two heroes sneak off to get changed out of their clothes.

Adrien poked his head into the foyer, glancing nervously around. Logically, he understood that his father was always busy, and was especially busy today. So busy that Nathalie would be with him for the entire day. Even so he couldn’t help but enter his house cautiously. Already he could hear their reprimands for entering the house in this state. After all, if he got sick, then that would mean more photoshoots would be cancelled.

His wet sleeve was tugged and he turned to see Marinette looking up at him in concern. “A-are you alright? You got a depressed look on your face for a minute there.”

Plastering a bright smile on his face, he replied, “Oh, yeah! I’m fine. I was just worried if my father caught me like this. Anyway, my room is over this way…”

She seemed unconvinced by his fake smile - one of the few downsides to letting her see too many of his real ones. Still, she didn’t press the point, which he was grateful for. 

“So, uh, I’m going to get changed… do you want to get changed too? I might have a shirt that would fit you, if you want?” He snagged a shirt and pants from his drawers, plus a pair of underwear while she was distracted looking around his room.

“Oh!” She turned back towards him, away from the Ladybug poster over his bed. “Um, yes please.” While he had the closet open, he took a baggy T-shirt off a hanger and handed it to her.

“I’ll get changed and then you can go in after me, okay?” He made his way towards his bathroom. “Feel free to look around.”

Once the door to his bathroom was shut and securely locked, Plagg emerged from his shirt dripping wet and looking not too pleased about it.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to let her have free reign of your room, kid? You’ve got plenty in there that you want to keep hidden.” He shook the excess water off himself, spraying Adrien with a fresh coat in the process, and began rubbing himself against one of the towels in the room.

Adrien rolled his eyes. “I’m sure she won’t steal any of your cheese, Plagg.”

“Of course not! Humans have awful taste. No, I’m talking about _your_ stuff. Or did you forget all about your embarrassing things while you were batting your eyelashes at your new girlfriend?”

Adrien paused for only a moment before doubling his changing speed, casting aside the wet clothes and throwing on the dry ones. This friendship, while he felt like it was going pretty well, might not survive her discovering all his weird interests all at once. He really didn’t want to blow it with Marinette after working so hard to get her to talk to him normally. 

His rushing turned out to not have been necessary. When he came out, she was sitting on his bed, holding a Ladybug action figure in her hands. “Found that, did you?”

“Gah!” She almost dropped the action figure in shock. “S-sorry, I didn’t hear you come out.”

He gently took the little Ladybug from her and looked down at it fondly. When he returned his attention to Marinette, he could practically feel the unease radiating off of her. With one last glance at the action figure, he broke the silence.

“You know, it was only a few years ago that I stopped using a nightlight.”

She turned back to look at him, head tilted to the side in confusion. “Huh? Really?”

“It’s true.” He looked around his room, at the wide open space that Nino described as stadium sized. “I’ve never liked how big my room is. It just made me feel small and exposed. Especially with how far away my parents were and how empty the house is at night.”

“What changed?”

“Nothing, really. My father simply got tired of me relying on it and got rid of it. It was rough for a while, but I got used to it.” 

Her lips pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed in a glare. “That wasn’t right of him to do. But why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know why you’re tense, but I’ve found opening up to people helps me relax, at least.” He nudged her. “You go get changed. I’ll be expecting a secret when you get back, okay?”

She vanished into the bathroom and Adrien laid down on his bed while he waited. Thankfully she hadn’t asked how long it took him to get used to the darkness. It would’ve been embarrassing to say that had taken a couple months to get a good night’s sleep without one. Soon enough, she emerged, his slightly damp jacket and her wet blouse folded neatly on her arm. 

Just before he suggested throwing her shirt in the dryer, she sat down and said, “I have a big cat pillow that I cuddle up with at night. His name is…” She trailed off and mumbled quietly, “Mr. Kitty.”

A small part of him was gleeful that she falls asleep at night snuggled up with a cat plush, but his smile was more because of the name than anything. “...Mr. Kitty…?”

She half-heartedly glared at him. “I was six!” 

He held up his hands. “Hey, we’re not judging, right? I just think it’s cute is all.” 

A blush made its way onto her face and she looked away. “...Thanks.”

Silence stretched between them, but to Adrien it was a companionable one. Eventually though, he did feel the need to break it.

“I… kinda wanted to get out of the house today, but after everything that’s happened today, I don’t want to be out much. Do you mind if we head over to your place?”


	7. Sweet Tooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unwilling to part just yet, Marinette brings Adrien home to hang out for a while longer.

“S-sure.” Marinette had replied, an undercurrent of panic and dread in her voice that, Adrien, bless his oblivious soul, hadn’t picked up on. It wasn’t so much she was afraid of bringing him home. It was more she knew her parents would find some way to embarrass her. They were well aware of her crush after all and had nearly let it slip to him last time he was over for the gaming tournament. 

“Awesome! I can’t wait to meet Mr. Kitty.” He winked and it felt as if her soul left her body. The boy had no business being this cute.

The trip back home didn’t take too long. Since they arrived after the midday rush, Marinette decided to enter through the bakery. Better to get it over with sooner rather than later. 

Thankfully, her mom was at the counter and not her papa. While she loved him to pieces, he could be… a little much, especially if mom wasn’t there to balance him out. She raised her head reflexively at the sound of the bell over the door.

“Hello! How can I- Oh! Hello, sweetie. And I see you brought a friend over!” She smiled brightly at Adrien. “How are you doing, dear?”

“Very well, thank you for asking!” He held his hands behind his back and stood straighter, slipping seamlessly into the model of a young gentleman.

Her attention shifted back to Marinette and she raised her eyebrows. “Sweetie… what happened to your clothes? That definitely isn’t what you were wearing when you left this morning for his photoshoot.”

“It’s… a long story. My clothes got wet and Adrien let me borrow some of his until I got home. So…”

“Oh, of course. Don’t let me hold you up. But before you go…” Marinette froze. “...Are you two hungry?” Marinette shared a look with Adrien.

Ten minutes later, Adrien was laying on her chaise, a platter of chocolate croissants balanced on his lap. Marinette had a few macaroons for herself - maybe not the most nutritious lunch in the world, but delicious all the same. Between bites, she stole glances at Adrien, who seemed very interested in her room decor for some reason. It didn’t bother her, though, not if it gave her free reign to watch him be his natural self in peace. Peace… that was the word for it. Normally, there was always the sense that he was very conscious of his actions, as if there would be repercussions if he didn’t do everything just right. But when it was just them, he was much more relaxed. 

Before she could muse any further on his, he swallowed his bite of chocolate croissant and commented. “You sure do like my father’s line, don’t you?”

All thoughts shut down as she finally pieced together what he had been staring at - the pictures of _him_ on her walls. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen them, of course - Jagged Stone’s reality show had seen to that. But it _was_ the first time he’d seen them in person.

“Oh! That reminds me, I still need to meet Mr Kitty.”

“Yes! That! Let’s do that!” She scrambled up the stairs, glad that he wasn’t dwelling on the posters. Although it was reassuring that he had stuff of her in his room, she could hardly bring that up since it was her as _Ladybug_. Snatching the large cat pillow up, she rushed back down to where he was sitting, removing the plate and shoving Mr. Kitty in front of him. “Here! Bask in his cuddliness!”

“Hey, I was- Oh wow he _is_ soft.”

“And do you know what’s best?”

“Falling asleep in an ocean of plushy goodness?”

“Yes,” she conceded, “but also holding him tight while watching movies.” 

Adrien smiled. “Well, I don’t want to break with tradition. What did you have in mind?”

Marinette headed up the stairs to her bed for the second time, grabbing a pillow for her own cuddling. “I’ve got a few options, you tell me which one you want to watch the most…”


	8. A Favor Only You Can Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its about time for Adrien to head home, but not before he asks Marinette for one more thing...

The movie finished playing and Adrien sat pensive in his seat, still clutching Mr Kitty tightly. Credits rolled past as he heard Marinette rise from her seat and the gears turned in his head. Today had been an adventure, but he knew he couldn’t stay for much longer. He’d already been out much longer than he had expected and if he wasn’t home soon, his father would no doubt be calling for him. At least, whenever someone got around to knocking on his bedroom door and finding out he wasn’t there.

“Adrien?” Marinette’s voice stirred him from his thoughts.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I asked, ‘Did you want to watch another?’”

“Oh! No, sorry, but I think I need to head home.” Setting Mr. Kitty down carefully, he slowly stood and stretched. Weird how things work out - he _did_ end up sitting still for hours at time today. Just not like how his schedule had dictated he would. It was something he could get used to.

“Oh… okay.” Marinette had her arms behind her back, one hand holding onto the forearm of the other. “I, uh, I had fun today, even if the start was kinda… bad.”

He smiled. “I’m glad I could help make it better. It hurt to see you run off like that. Even worse that it was because of something Chloe and Lila did.”

They stood awkwardly for a few moments longer, Adrien not knowing exactly what else to say and Marinette seeming unable to say what she wanted to. Eventually, it was Adrien who broke the silence.

“Hey, Marinette?” She looked up at him. “Can I ask you for a promise?”

She blinked, surprised. “A… promise?”

“Yes. Two actually.” He wrapped an arm around her to pull her into a half hug. “If they ever do something like that again, or if you just need someone to talk to, I want you to call me, okay? I know it’s not much, but I’ll do my best to help.” 

Her face had taken on the color of a tomato, but she managed to say, “Oh-okay. Definitely do that can I. I mean! Yes. Yes I can do that. Thank you, Adrien.” He let go and she cleared her throat. “What's the, uh, other promise?”

“Well… this is actually more selfish than the first one, but… promise we can hang out again like this sometime? Apart from the beginning, today was… nice.”

She smiled. “I think we can pull that off sometime.”


	9. Birthday Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya gives Marinette the best birthday present of all.

“Happy birthday, girl! I’m so sorry I can’t be there in person! You know if I didn’t have this vacay with my family I’d spend the whole day with you.” Normally, Marinette and Alya would be excited that her parents had suddenly announced a surprise vacation to Italy. What made it bittersweet was that Marinette’s birthday fell right in the middle of it. 

“It’s okay, Alya. Maybe we can do something after you get back? We don’t have to do something on my actual birthday to celebrate it, right? Plus, you’ll only be gone for a week! Plenty of time for me to pull something together.” 

“Oh no, my girl isn’t spending her birthday alone.” Alya smiled deviously, something that Marinette knew never boded well. “Don’t worry - I got something arranged. He-” Her attention snapped to the side when someone off camera called her name. “Sorry, girl - gotta go. I’ll call you later! Good luck~!”

“Wait! Who is-” The screen went dark before Marinette could get her question out. She sat up from where she was laying in her bed, still in her pajamas. Her plan had been to have a little movie marathon today. With how hectic her life tended to be, not doing anything was an acceptable substitute for an actual party in her opinion. Now she didn’t know what to do. And from Tikki’s puzzled expression, she wasn’t about to get much help from that corner either.

Her phone buzzed in her hands - that had better be Alya filling her in! She unlocked her phone and nearly dropped it in surprise at the name that came up: Adrien. Despite their best efforts over the last few months, they still hadn’t managed to hang out like they did last time. Sure, sometimes they’d go out with Nino and Alya, a few times they’d spend a few minutes together chatting, but ultimately their time as seat buddies was the most time they got. And that ended when summer rolled around - one of the few times in her life Marinette was upset that school was over. 

After a few more moments of panicking, she finally remembered to actually check the text message. Not that it helped set her mind at ease at all.

**Adrien:** Hey! Alya wanted this to be a surprise, but I’m going to be coming over later today with two tickets to that musical that came into town recently. Be a shame if I went alone. ;)

She read it over and over again, frantically analyzing every part of it. There was a stampede of emotions warring for dominance before the quiet voice of her kwami cut through it.

“Are you going to say yes?”

“I...” She was torn. Was this a date? Was it just two friends going to a play together? If it was just that, could it be the start of something more? “What do you think?”

Tikki thought for a long moment, smiled, and said, “I think it’s time to water this tree.”

It took a moment for Marinette to place the analogy from the conversation they’d had months ago. When she did, she joined Tikki in smiling and composed her text back to Adrien.

**Marinette:** It would be awful if you went alone. How should I dress?

She didn’t have to wait long for a reply. Her feet had only just touched the floor when her phone chimed again. 

**Adrien:** Better than everyday clothes, but not dress attire. It isn’t too high class. And we’ll be going to dinner after. My gift for your birthday - delicious food!

Reading the text made her giggle and she dug through her closet for something suitable. There was a cute outfit that’d she had finished a few days ago for just such an occasion. It would be nice to put it to the test. She’d have to remember to get Alya something really good for her next birthday - maybe a handmade dress? Not quite as wonderful as setting her up on what was practically a date with her crush, but it would be a good start. 

By the time he arrived, she was more than ready. Her doubts had been quietly stashed away and put far in the back of her mind - romance or not, she intended to have a good time, free of any fear or worry. She said goodbye to her parents and slide into the back seat right next to Adrien. Blue eyes met green and she knew tonight would be something to remember.


	10. Puns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien treats Marinette to a dinner for her birthday.

Adrien was on a _roll_. Which caused him to pause - when had he started punning inside the safety of his own head? It came as no shock to him since ever since they left the theater he’d be at it nonstop. The only times he’d used so many puns at once before was when he was safe behind the Chat Noir mask.

“Wouldn’t you say things are going well so far?” Adrien asked over his salad.

Marinette stopped mid chew to send him a well-earned suspicious look. “...Yes?”

“Great! Then _lettuce_ celebrate!” Adrien grinned at his own pun while Marinette struggled not to be amused, choosing instead to groan dramatically. 

The first rule for the prospective punner - the puns are for the benefit of the teller and the sorrow of the recipient. Success is measured in the exasperation of the audience.

Before he could continue, Marinette said, “I didn’t know you liked puns so much.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, I guess it doesn’t come up a lot… There’s just something really satisfying about drawing that much of a reaction out of someone, you know?”

“Right, but…” She set her fork down and leaned forward hesitantly, “Well… You could pull that off with normal jokes, right? Why puns specifically?”

It took him a long moment before he could respond. Why _did_ he choose puns? He’d almost say it was because they were quick and snappy and thus easier to tell Ladybug in the heat of battle. Then again, he’d loved them before he’d ever been Chat Noir. 

Realizing she was still waiting on an answer, he replied, “I guess it’s because... I don’t have much experience with humor otherwise. The only people outside my house I talked to a lot was Chloe and I never really liked her kind of comedy. It was always at someone’s expense… which I’m realizing should’ve been a warning sign about what sort of person she would be.” He leaned back. “But my father made sure I was good at linguistics and word play is just a step from that.”

Her eyes were sad as she watched him, her thoughts unreadable. “Your father expects a lot from you, doesn’t he?”

He pushed the food on his plate around with his fork. “Yeah… it’s not too bad, though. I’m pretty used to it at this point.”

She put her hand on his and stared him in the eye when he looked up at her. To his surprise, she spoke without a hint of a stutter, though she was faintly blushing. “Remember our promise? It works both ways. You don’t have to be alone anymore, Adrien. You have friends that care about you!”

“Thank you,” he smiled genuinely at her. “That… means a lot to me.” They shared a moment of just smiling at each other before returning to their meals. “By the way - why were you so curious about why I pun?”

“Oh, uh, it doesn’t really matter too much… just something Alya said once…”

“What was it?” He took a sip of his water.

“It’s just… blonde hair, green eyes, love of puns… sounds a lot like Chat Noir, right?” She recoiled when he gagged on his water. 

Eyes watering as he coughed, he choked out, “Yeah! Fine. Just swallowed wrong is all.” 

It was so faint he might have been imagining it, but he could almost swear that Plagg was quietly laughing at him from the comfort of his shirt pocket.


	11. Facetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so Marinette's... 'date' with Adrien comes to end and they have to go home. But that doesn't have to be the end, does it?

“So… I had fun today.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck while the two of them stood in front of the door to her house. 

“I did too. This was the best birthday gift I’ve had in years. Maybe ever!” Marinette smiled at him, lost in the moment. A crackle of possibly flickered between them as they each waited for the say something. It felt as if they were on the cusp of something and Marinette’s heart skipped a beat when Adrien opened his mouth to speak…

...only to be interrupted by his chauffeur honking the horn. He smiled apologetically and took a few tentative steps away from her. When had he gotten so close? “Sorry! I need to get home. See you soon?”

“Yeah…” She waved as he left, the happiness from the night tinged with regret at the ruined moment. Her voice was a whisper as he got into the back of the car. “...See you soon.”

Once the car was out of sight, she ducked inside and made her way upstairs. Her parents were long asleep - as bakers, they couldn’t stay up late even though she knew they had wanted to tonight. Tikki floated free of her purse as she got changed out of her clothes and into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and tank top, letting her hair free at last. Now she just needed to find a way to fall asleep after all that excitement. 

“That went well!”

“Do you think so?” Marinette bite at her lip. “Did it have more of a friends day feeling or an almost date feeling? Is the love tree growing?”

Tikki shrugged. “I’m not a mind reader, Marinette. I can’t tell you what Adrien is thinking.” She lifted Marinette’s chin when her gaze fell to the floor. “But I can tell you that you’re on the right track. You really connected with him today, don’t you think?”

“I hope so. Do you think he really did have a good time?” 

Before Tikki could give her response, Marinette’s phone began buzzing. Confused, she picked it up only to blink in confusion at the name on the screen. Adrien. They hadn’t been apart for that long - did he forget something?

Motioning for Tikki to hide, she answered the call. “Hello?”

Adrien’s face shifted from annoyance at something off camera to a bright smile to her. “Hey, Marinette!”

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh! No, no, I just thought… well, I could keep talking with you for the rest of your birthday...? There’s only an hour left of the day so…” He trailed off, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. “We don’t have to if you’d rather sleep or-”

Her heart fluttered as she replied, “That sounds wonderful.” She got comfortable in her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chest. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“I’m not sure. I just realized that I don’t know a lot about you… and I felt bad for talking about myself for most of the dinner. If... that’s alright?”

Cheeks blushing, she pressed on, proud that even now her stutter was staying the hell away. “Well… okay. What do you want to know?”

He finally met her eyes. “Everything.”

By the time midnight rolled around and it was officially no longer her birthday, they were both barely clinging to the waking world. She’d told him a lot - her favorite color, how she got into fashion design, and so much more. After all her research on him, she was finally starting to feel like they were on a more equal footing. And yet he was still determined to press on, despite how he could barely hold his summer green eyes open and that it wasn’t even her birthday any longer. For his own sake, she took matters into her own hands and put as much confidence into her voice as possible.

“Adrien… please, go to sleep. If not for you, then for me, okay?”

Half asleep, he slurred a reply before hanging up, leaving Marinette staring at the screen in surprise. She must not have heard right - she _was_ very tired after all, and the day had been long. Probably just the dream world taking a step into reality. Shrugging it off, she settled into bed as sleep quickly overtook her. 

After all, he _couldn’t_ have just said, “Goodnight, my lady.” Right?


	12. Adrien's Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette weren't the only ones at the restaurant, and some of them had cameras.

It was one of those rare days were Adrien didn’t have to get up early. There was no photoshoot at the break of dawn. No school since it was still summer - even if that wasn’t going to last for much longer. None of his sports had practice today. It was just… bliss. He had every intention of not leaving bed, especially since he’d been up till midnight last night chatting with Marinette. In short, he expected it to be a slow, easy morning to deal with.

In reality it was… less so.

His first sign that something was amiss was that at somewhere around nine in the morning, he heard Plagg cackling from across the room. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, so Adrien didn’t give it much thought. Still, now he was awake with nothing to do, so he got out of bed to get ready for the day. 

The second sign came while he was in the shower and he heard his phone buzzing like crazy from a deluge of texts. That was… concerning. After all, barely anyone had that number and almost no one texted him. Mostly just Nino and some from Chloe, though he’d managed to coax some conversation out of Marinette in recent months. But if he was getting that many at once, something had to be wrong. 

He decided to cut his shower short and got dressed. Once he was back out of his bathroom he sat down at his computer, Plagg floating over to him with an ecstatic grin on his face. This didn’t bode well.

Excluding one text from Nathalie and one from Chloe, most of the remaining messages were from Nino, Alya, and Marinette. Despite how desperately he wanted to see what his friends wanted, he figured it would be best to start with the smaller loads first.

 **Nathalie:** Your father inquires as to when you were going to tell him about this. He considers it to very irresponsible of you.

Weirdly formal? Check. Vague feeling of disappointment? Check. Sense that it is all Adrien’s fault somehow? Check. Sounds like dear old dad alright. Since his father failed to mention what Adrien had failed to mention, Adrien decided it was safe to ignore for the time being and moved onto Chloe’s text.

 **Chloe:** UGH those rags are making nasty rumors about u again adrikins. don’t worry - I don’t believe any of it!!!

That was… slightly more concerning, but judging from Plagg’s amused grin, he both already knew what this was about and was unconcerned. So it probably didn’t have anything to do with Chat Noir. 

“Care to explain, Plagg?”

“Oh man, those reporters saw what you didn’t, kid. Just search your name on the internet and see what pops up.”

Slightly hesitant - he was after all a celebrity, as much as he didn’t want to be, and that lead to some… interesting fanworks of him - he did as Plagg asked and read the headline of the first article: “Local teen heartthrob Adrien Agreste - off the market?” He opened the link and smiled at the cute pictures taken of him and Marinette at the theater and, more prominently, at the dinner last night and-

Oh. 

Understanding suddenly flooded through him as he connected the headline with the images and made the final leap, confirmed by the article’s closing line: “...Though sources are unclear as to who this mystery girl is, it is clear from the pictures above that Adrien Agreste is, indeed, off the market.”

Returning to his phone, he thumbed through Nino and Alya’s texts. Some part of him was scared of seeing Marinette’s reaction to all this. Would she be angry? Would she never want to hang out with him again? How much should he apologize over this? 

Nino seemed congratulatory, although there was an undercurrent of displeasure - something he had learned to pick up on with his many interactions with his father. No doubt Nino was upset at being left out of the non-existent loop. After a couple texts reassuring him that the articles were baseless, he moved onto Alya. She seemed… less accepting. No doubt between her own journalistic instincts and her bond with Marinette, she knew that it was fake. She was urging him to contact Marinette so he finally took a breath and opened them.

It was actually pretty impressive how Marinette had managed to simulate the experience of her rambling in person, but in text form.

 **Marinette:** I'M SO SORRY ADRIEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

 **Marinette:** Well I do realize what happened but its awful

 **Marinette:** Wait no I didn’t mean it’d be awful that i was dating you I mean its awful that they think that we’re dating

 **Marinette:** Not that us dating is terrible! 

**Marinette:** Unless it is, which is totally fine!

Despite her obvious discomfort, Adrien was smiling. Flustered Marinette was cute, even if it was only in text form. And besides, if she was apologizing to him, then that meant she wasn’t mad. So if she wasn’t angry or upset, then why would he be? Tabloids made stuff up all the time, this would blow over pretty quickly. After reading her texts for the third time, he finally remembered to respond.

 **Adrien:** It’s okay, Marinette! I should be the one apologizing. I got you caught up in this mess - again! Just like last time though I don’t think they’ll be interested for too long.

He barely had time to stand up and look out the window before she sent a response.

 **Marinette:** No no no, this is all my fault now there is a big mess and just terrible!

Well, she was clearly at her phone so… Adrien hit the call button.

“O-oh! Adrien, I uh, I’m-”

“Marinette. Did you enjoy hanging out last night?”

“Well, I-” She took a deep breath and continued more calmly. “...Yes. But-”

“Then that’s all that matters, okay? I don’t care what the reporters think. We had a good time on your birthday.”

“...Right. Okay.” Another pause. She asked in a small voice, so unlike the confident Marinette who stood up to the likes of Chloe. “You’re sure you’re not mad?”

He laughed earnestly. “Yes, I’m sure. Besides, they were cute pictures, weren’t they?”


	13. Good Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Alya talk about recent events and what they might mean.

“Alya, that was so embarrassing!” Marinette dramatically threw herself to the ground, resting her head in her best friend’s lap. “Not to mention to was so weird seeing myself in an online article.” Sure, she’d gotten used to it as Ladybug, but as Marinette… entirely different story. Alya patted her on the head and chuckled.

“Girl, I don’t know what you’re freaking out about! This was a great thing, right?”

“How?! How could this possibly have been a good thing?!”

“Did Adrien seem mad at all?”

“No…” Which didn’t say much. He was usually pretty easy going most of the time, even when he really should be pushing back. 

“Then the idea of you two dating didn’t bother him in the slightest! That’s great news!”

Marinette’s head slowly rose off of Alya as she sat down on the chaise beside her. That was an angle she hadn’t considered. Come to think of it, when this happened the first time, he didn’t just seem blaise about it, he almost relished the idea.

“Maybe this tree is further along than I thought…” Marinette mumbled to herself, remembering Tikki’s advice.

“What was that, girl?”

“Oh, ah, just reminding myself to, uh… water my plants! Yeah, hahah.”

“Right…” Alya narrowed her eyes at Marinette for a moment before continuing, “So what’s your next move, girl?”

“I… well, I think slowly getting closer to him is working out so… more of that?” She looked sheepishly back at Alya, who raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t get me wrong, girl, I’m glad you aren’t making crazy complicated plans anymore, but I still say the best choice is to tell him how you feel. At least then there can be no doubts about where you two stand.”

“That’s… that’s almost why I don’t want to tell him for now. What if he doesn’t like me back?”

Smiling sadly at Marinette, Alya replied, “Then he is an idiot who doesn’t know his own feelings. Whether he realizes it or not, that boy is head over heels for you.” She slide next to Marinette and threw an arm around her shoulders. “I mean - and I say this in the most loving way imaginable - it is painful to listen to how you used to stutter around him - and heck, how you still sometimes do. But the way he dotes on you and waits for you? No way that is just being friendly.” 

“Al-ya!” Marinette whined. “I’m doing better now! And besides, he is just patient like that.”

“Really? Have you seen how he recoils when Chloe barrages him? Plus, I’ve got tons of other little pieces of evidence like that, I just don’t have all day to-” An alarm on her phone went off. “Shoot. I’ve got to head out, girl. It was great seeing you again!” They shared a hug and she gathered her things.

“Sorry we just talked about me all this time.”

“Don’t sweat it, girl. From the articles I read, your birthday was way more eventful than my vacation.” She poked her head into the room just before she left. “Oh and good luck turning those articles into reality. Go get ‘em, girl!” She winked and ducked out of the room, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts.

Switching over to her desk chair, she opened the article she’d been reading, feeling the butterflies in her stomach when she saw the words “Adrien with his girlfriend” under a picture of the two of them eating dinner together. At least Adrien was right about one thing - it _was_ a cute picture.


	14. Valentine's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien remembers the mysterious Valentine he had been sent earlier in the year.

With summer soon to end, Adrien was thumbing through his notebooks from last year. More precisely, he was checking the side margins where all the fun happened. For most of the year, it was the occasional chat between him and Nino, and he pleasantly wasted an hour just remembering what those conversations were about. So many plans were made in this way… although only a few of them came to fruition, he noted with a frown. 

There was a definite shift towards the end, though. Which came as no surprise given his change in desk buddy. Suddenly there was long rambly conversations between the two of them, so much so that they began running out of room in the margins. There was much more to read here since that was about the only time they ever got to talk, so these notes played out more like actual conversation rather than just snippets and echoes of other debates. Maybe because of that, the topics of his talks with Marinette were much more varied.

He suddenly sat up from where he was laying. Something was tickling in the back of his head about this section. They had been talking about dreams they’d been having and there was something oddly... familiar about it. But he hadn’t ever seen Marinette’s handwriting before… right?

A sudden flash of inspiration struck him and he bolted towards his bedside table drawer. Pulling out a pink paper heart, he opened it and tried to find words that were the same for comparison. Let’s see… ‘Dream’? That fits.‘Heart’? Matches. ‘Thoughts’? Looks the same. ‘Eternity’? Excluding that it is being squashed from lack of space, they are practically identical. 

Did… did Marinette write this Valentine for him? 

That prompted a bunch of questions on its own. First, how did she find the Valentine he had wrote? He had thrown it away! Then again, she was sitting behind him when he wrote that, and it was hardly like he was hiding it. The teacher called on him for not paying attention after all. Second, if she _did_ send it, why didn’t she sign it? That stumped him more than anything. Why go through all the trouble of responding to a thrown-away Valentine, sending it, and then not sign it? 

The idea that she truly meant it made his heart flutter for a moment, but that can’t be right. And he shouldn’t just _assume_ that Marinette wrote it. If she really felt that way, she would’ve brought it up, right? Plus, there were plenty of times she adamantly denied having feelings for him. 

With that in mind, he returned the Valentine to its place. All the while, he failed to realize that he didn’t feel disappointed for even a moment that the Valentine hadn’t been from Ladybug, like he thought. Instead, he was doing his best to ignore the heaviness that he was feeling in his heart.


	15. Love Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe has doubled down on her usual self, trying to put as much of a barrier between Marinette and Adrien as possible.

Marinette was at her wit’s end. Of all the things she’d had to contend with, the one getting to her the most was Chloe. Which made sense, in a manner of speaking - the other things in her life that bothered her she could either beat up with super strength or overcome with diligence and hard work. Chloe was an… interesting case. 

“Out of my way, Dupain-Cheng!” Marinette felt a shove from behind her as Chloe pushed past her to get to the bottom of the stairs. It had almost become a part of their morning ritual since the seat changes had carried through to this year. Sure enough, she watched her bound down the stairs to meet Adrien as he got out of his ride. 

Even from this distance, Marinette could tell he was uncomfortable with how Chloe had latched onto his arm. Adrien had turned out to be an exasperatingly touchy kind of person, but he still had boundaries. When the two of them reached the top of the stairs Adrien stopped, ignoring how he was tugged forward slightly when Chloe tried to keep walking.

“Oh, hey, Marinette! How’s that design going?”

“Not great. I haven’t had much time to work on it with, um, other things going on.” Hopefully he wouldn’t ask any further. She could hardly tell him that patrolling Paris was a time sink after all. 

“What could _you_ possibly have to work on, Dupain-Cheng?” Chloe sneered at her. Normally, it was easy to brush off but this had been practically everyday since they got back to school. It was like she had been dialing up the nastiness. 

“Hey! Marinette has plenty on her plate. She’s still class president, plus there’s helping out at the bakery, not to mention she has tons of awesome designs she’s always doing.” Honestly, the only good thing about this was hearing Adrien compliment her, even if it only drove Chloe to worse acts of spite. Adrien turned back to Marinette. “Oh, speaking of the bakery, do you know where Alya and Nino wanted to go eat today?”

“ _We_ should just order sushi, Adrikins.” 

The pleasant smile on Adrien’s face became strained and Marinette’s eye twitched. Thankfully, the bell rang and they had a reason not to respond as they made their way to class. The bliss of furtive note passing with Adrien helped distract her from the menace that Chloe was making of herself, but even that was only temporary. Soon enough, they were out to lunch and an unwanted figure made their group of five. 

\----------------------

“That was _awful_.” Alya voiced Marinette’s thoughts aloud as they settled down in Marinette’s room over the bakery. “And poor centerfold took the brunt of it.”

“Well… at least he tried to help?” Truth be told, Marinette was just as frustrated as Alya, it was just that Marinette was already worn down from the countless other little tantrums Chloe threw on a daily basis.

“Girl, he should’ve done that from the start then and told Chloe that she couldn’t go with us to lunch.” Alya buried her face in her hands. “I have never been so embarrassed in my life. How can one person complain about so much? I’m surprised they didn’t kick us all out!”

“I… yeah. Maybe-” She paused as both of their phones buzzed. A quick check revealed that Adrien had sent a group message to her, Alya, and Nino.

 **Adrien:** I’m really sorry about today. Let me make it up to you guys. Beach next weekend? Sound good?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today was kinda cheating since the only one who considers Chloe a rival for Adrien's affection is Chloe herself, but I needed to set up tomorrow's chapter.


	16. Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien takes his friends to the beach and does his best to make sure they stay safe.

Organizing a weekend in the beaches of southern France hadn’t turned out to be much of an issue for Adrien. He had expected his father at least would provide some resistance, but for some reason his father was almost eager to send him outside Paris. Provides that the Gorilla went with them, but that was almost a given. 

No, organizing the trip wasn’t the hard part. It was what Alya and Nino had told him with Marinette was taking a nap during the train ride. 

“Sunburns can’t be that bad… can they?” Adrien looked at Marinette, who had fallen asleep and promptly fallen over onto his shoulder, and then looked back at Alya and Nino were sitting.

"Don't be so sure, my dude. It can be super painful, as bad as a burn from fire, and it can permanently damage the skin."

"And Mari's so pale..."

"It's almost inevitable."

"Tragic. She could be in a world of hurt tomorrow. "

“But… it can’t be _that_ bad...” Adrien furrowed his brow in concentration. “Right?” Then again, what they were saying sounded right. Besides, Marinette had a long history of forgetting to take care of herself because she was too busy helping others. Now it was his turn to make sure Marinette got taken care of. “No. You’re right. I’ll watch her like a hawk.”

He hadn’t expected that it would be… simultaneously easier and more difficult than he had anticipated. On the one hand, it was _very_ easy to keep an eye on Marinette. On the other hand, it was difficult to remember what he was supposed to be doing, or, indeed, who he was, while watching her in the two-piece bikini with the red bottom and white top with little cartoon cats on it. Cats! Black cats, no less. And all of it was pulled together by the big yellow, floppy sunhat with a red ribbon he’d bought her once they got there. Curse his amazing fashion sense!

Thankfully, duty always brought him back to his senses. Even if duty sometimes took on the form of Alya making hand signals from the beach. Or Nino miming drinking water. Marinette, for her part, didn’t seem to mind, even if she was confused by him following her as if he were her shadow. Poor girl - he had no idea what it must feel like to need to have sunscreen rubbed onto her shoulders every half hour or so. At least she wasn’t complaining, which was good. Although the way her face has been red for the entire time made him afraid that she’d already gotten a sunburn.

Adrien had reached the snow cone stand near where Alya and Nino had camped, nominally to get them a snow cone. But Adrien did not know the dangers of the sun as well as those two apparently did. He needed guidance - Marinette was practically defenseless out here. It was worse than he thought.

“Well…” Alya began, stroking her chin. “I saw a shop over that way that might have something useful…”

A few minutes later, he had caught up with Marinette. She was laying on a beach towel, soaking up the rays of the hateful, pain-giving sun. He knew he needed to act swiftly, so he jammed the umbrella into the ground behind her, shielding her in soothing, protective shade. The benevolence of this act was lost on her.

“A-adrien! Did you buy _another_ thing?!” She peered at him over her sunglasses. “Well, if it’s here, you- you better get under it too. You’ve been running around like crazy all day. You’re going to get heat exhaustion if you keep it up!”

As he got situated, she returned to what she had been doing before he arrived - sketching. A warm smile came to his face as he watched her at work. With the crowds thinned by the late season, it was just them and the sound of the ocean. It was a treat just to watch her slowly bring the scenery to life on the paper, something he could never get tired of. 

When she decided to go for one last dip in the ocean (though not before one last coat of sunscreen), he was following right behind her. There was something that felt... right about letting her lead him towards the waves. In fact, the idea of letting her lead him anywhere was starting to sound perfect.


	17. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette at last musters the courage to confess her feelings to Adrien.

“Girl, I’m telling you, this is the perfect time!” It had been a few days since they’d gotten back from the beach and the mini vacation had worked wonders for her. Even if she had been on the verge of fainting for most of that time for reasons entirely unrelated to the heat. She still wasn’t sure why Adrien had been acting like that, but her gut told her Alya had been involved somehow.

Alya put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders, taking her silence for hesitation. “You saw how he was back at the beach! He _obviously_ cares for you. He’ll say yes, I promise. You just need to tell him.”

“But... what if he-”

“Girl. If he doesn’t, then he still cares about you and you two get to be friends. Nothing changes. But if he does? Then you get everything you’ve been working for!”

Marinette took a few deep breaths. There had always been a kernel of doubt in her mind if Adrien saw her as anything more than another friend, but that day on the beach opened her eyes to all the other ways that Adrien had done more than ‘just a friend’ things. Even if he didn’t realize it. In any case, Alya was right - if there had been any doubts in her mind they were certainly gone now. But just because she was more certain didn’t mean she was any less afraid of rejection.

“Okay… Okay. So maybe sometime soon I can find some way to talk to him alone and then…”

“Mhm, mhm… Or…” Alya pulled out her phone to check a text, “...you could go out to the park to where I told him to wait for you.”

“ALYA!” Marinette shrieked, scandalized. She was NOT ready, this was only going to end badly.

“I know how you work, girl. The sooner you go out there, the less time you have to psych yourself out.” She held up a finger as Marinette was about to protest. “Tick tock, girl. The boy is waiting for you.” 

“We will be having _words_ the next time I see you!” Marinette glared at her as they rushed down the stairs on their way out of the bakery. 

“Whatever you say, girl. And don’t forget your umbrella. I hear it’s supposed to rain.”

\----------------------------------

It hadn’t been hard to find him. The looming threat of rain had scared off most park goers, leaving only a stubborn few to mill about the fading greenery. He hadn’t noticed her yet. There was still the opportunity to leave. She could say other things came up. Heaven knows she had enough viable excuses to use from her experience as a superhero. If she slipped away…

Then what? Another year of this? Of burning with the desire to confess her feelings? Would she ever gather enough courage to do this if she didn’t do it now?

“Marinette!” She glanced down to see Tikki peering out from her purse. “Trust in yourself. What do _you_ think is right?”

Her mouth opened, but she closed it without saying anything. This had to be her decision. It didn’t take her long, the realization hitting her like lightning, electrifying her into action.

She chose Adrien. It felt like the easiest thing in the world now that her mind was made up.

“H-hey! How are you doing?” The stutter was manageable. She could do this! She rushed up to him to where he was standing, admiring a statue. 

“Alright, I suppose.” Suddenly she was the sole focus of those bright summer green eyes that so often appeared in her dreams of the future. “Alya said you needed to talk to me? Are you alright?” His eyes became filled with worry and she forcibly shook herself out of her reverie. 

“Y-yes. And Alya was right. There is something I really need to tell you.” This was it. The moment of truth. One way or another, there was no going back. She could feel Tikki’s presence, radiating support and affection for her. She looked up into his face, the gentle, doting smile he wore as he patiently waited for her to speak at her own pace. 

“Adrien… I’m in love with you.” The words hung in the air like a physical thing and she felt both relieved and terrified. Her chest felt lighter now that she had shared her feelings, but at the same time she felt terribly, terribly exposed. Time seemed to freeze in place as the world around them fell away. 

A distant roll of thunder echoed in the quiet.


	18. In the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's reaction to Marinette's confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I realize that was a mean cliffhanger yesterday, but hopefully this makes up for it. Enjoy~

The thunder gave them warning and Marinette was jolted out of the trance they’d both fallen into. The black umbrella was opened just in time to save them from the deluge of rain that came pouring down. Her grip on the umbrella wasn’t great, he noted. No doubt because she was trying to hold it over both of them and he was taller than her. Which was just like her - always looking out for others, even now. 

“Come on, we’d better go inside and-” She stopped as he put his hand over the one holding the umbrella. He recognized it, of course. It had been a rainy day - just like today. He’d always been curious about what happened to it. It was no wonder she’d kept his umbrella, knowing now what he did. 

“Marinette…” He closed the space between them, staring into her deep blue eyes all the while. His other hand brushed against her cheek. “I love you too.” 

And it was true, though he couldn’t quite place when it had happened. Maybe it had been there all along. Maybe he had just been blinded by his love for another. Ladybug… everything he loved about his partner, he found in Marinette and more. Her courage. Her razor sharp mind. Beautiful and so very, very kind. It hurt to let go of his love for Ladybug - some days, that love had been all that had kept him going. But that pain was quickly drowned in another love entirely. 

Without realizing it, he’d both taken the umbrella from her slack fingers and brought his face close to hers. Here, he hesitated. Was he moving too quickly? The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away, not after been hit by the full realization of how much she had come to mean to him.

“Can I…?” He whispered to her. To his overwhelming relief, she nodded, entranced, and they shared their first kiss. It was awkward, too much teeth and bumping of noses, and it wasn’t at all what he’d dreamed his first kiss would be like, but it was _real_. It broke the spell that had hung over him. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and laughed, honest and true.

“H-hey! I know I’m not good at it, but-”

“No no no, it’s not that, it’s just… I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. Of course you love me! And of course I feel the same way!” He held her close, resting his chin on the top of her head as the rain poured down around them, helping fill the silence with the soft noise as he mustered his thoughts. Thankfully, she waited for the right words to come, just as he always did for her. “I guess… I just needed to hear it said out loud.” He laughed, a hint of bitterness in the cheerful sound. “It’s not everyday someone says something like that.”

“What? You don’t hear ‘I love you’ a lot?”

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “No…? Not really. I mean, sure, I hear it from fans, but they don’t really know me so I don’t think it counts.”

She scrunched up her face in the most adorable way before determination filled her features. “Then I’ll have to make up for lost time then.” Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek and rested her head against his chest. 

Suddenly his eyes widened, “Wait wait wait! I just realized something.”

“Huh? Is there something wrong?” She pulled back enough to look at him properly, a hand on his chest as she leaned back. 

“We need to have a date. To make it official, you know?” He may have only realized his feelings a few minutes ago, but he was still a romantic at heart. There needed to be candlelit dinners and roses and serenades and all those things! He hadn’t gotten a chance to woo her or anything!

“So you want to be my b-boyfriend?” Her face was blushing, a shade he was all too familiar with.

“Of course,” he said with more confidence than he felt. In truth, his heart was beating fast and he could barely contain himself. His cheeks were warm - no doubt he was blushing too.

“Well… I know a place close by that’s pretty good. I don’t know if it’s up to your first date expectations, but…”

He smiled at her as he took her hand in his. “If I’m there with you, it’ll be perfect.”


	19. Akumatized

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An akuma attacks, disrupting Marinette's first day at school with her new boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that I have listed the "Slight Hurt" tag in my Additional Tags section. You may have also made the logical assumption that this meant that there wasn't a lot of hurt in this story, which is true, mainly in the sense that there is way more fluff than hurt. However, this is mainly because it is mostly all concentrated in this chapter and the two following. 
> 
> Enjoy~

Marinette was on cloud nine. None of this felt real - it was all like a wonderful dream that she hadn’t woken up from yet. But everytime he laced his fingers between hers under the table, everytime their legs brushed together because they were sitting so close at their desk, every stolen kiss on the cheek reminded her that this was real. 

Only a few days had passed since their first date, a pizzeria late in the afternoon. It was nothing like either of them had dreamt their first date would be like. It was messy and spontaneous, but that just made it all the more real and solid in their minds. They talked about their dreams for the future, and all the things that they had hoped for. Now that they were together, nothing changed - except, of course, everything. They were practically inseparable.

Which meant that their classmates noticed the change almost immediately. Alya and Nino had known long before they made it to class - Alya was the first to find out and she had told Nino. Long talks over the phones with their best friends had promised many double dates in the future. Alix loudly proclaiming that ‘it was about time’ had brought a blush to Adrien’s cheeks, Marinette noticed. Riding on such a high, it was easy to ignore the glares of Lila and the grumbling of Chloe. 

What was harder to ignore was halfway through class when the screaming began outside. An akuma attack. The class was let out so they could find safety.

Marinette let her hand slip out of Adrien’s. “Go over to my house, I, uh… I need to get something from my locker! I’ll be right behind you!” 

Adrien seemed about to argue, but bit his lip and nodded. “Hurry! And stay safe.”

Ducking into the bathroom and locking the stall, she called out, “Tikki! Spots on!”

\------------------------------------

The akuma they faced was unlike most others. It almost felt like it had stepped out of another time and place entirely. There was no bright colors on this monster, nothing identifiably human except for a general shape. 

It stood like a bipedal tank, its body composed of grimy scraps of rusted metal that seemed welded together into a shape roughly approximately that of a man. Although it did move in spite of its solid iron appearance, it did so slowly, stomping through her city, billowing black smoke behind it and looking around with eyes that burned like pale green fire. As it angled its eyes downward, she had to adjust her assumption - there was a splash of bright on it. Scrawled on what could be called its chest were the words, ‘The End is Nigh.’

It raised a ponderous fist to slam into her, only for a familiar baton to conk it on the head, drawing its attention.

“Hey! You must be pretty _rusty_ if that’s as fast as you can go.” He landed beside Marinette and grinned at her.

Chat Noir. The appearance of her partner was both comforting and worrying. He didn’t have a great track record with handling rejection, but she needed to tell him she was dating. There should be no secrets between them, at least beyond the big one of their identities. But that had to wait until after the battle. For now, they had an akuma to defeat.

Maybe unsurprisingly, it was proving difficult. The akuma didn’t seem to have any weaknesses and its defenses weren’t just physical. It was like there was a magical force also at work protecting it. Without any other options, she stopped a fair distance away and called out for her ultimate power.

“Lucky Char-” She was cut off when she watched Chat Noir, who was distracting the akuma to give her space, get caught off guard as the akuma’s fist sped into his chest. It hit with such force that he was carried along with the fist before being sent flying at the height of its arc. His limp form collided with a building and he crumpled to the ground, unmoving. 

Later, she would see the videos, but she had no memory of screaming Chat’s name. All she could remember afterwards was seeing the massive akuma plodding towards the fallen hero and then her leaping into action. Uncertain of how bad his injuries were, she cradled him as gently as she could while carrying him far away from the battle. 

A voice that she dimly recognized as her own was saying, “Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright.”

She landed on a rooftop distant from the fight and set him down as softly as possible. He hadn’t said anything the entire journey, amping up her worry. Her fear froze her as she saw the blood trickling out from his nose, the closed eyes… the shallow, ragged breathing.

“Chat? Talk to me, Chat, please! Wake up, you stupid cat. Please!”


	20. Hamsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir has a request for Ladybug.

Adrien took as deep a breath he could, only to end up with a shuddering cough that wracked his body with pain as though he were made of broken glass. His vision swam as he saw a figure of red and black hovering above him. The face reminded him of another’s, and visions flashed through his mind. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Not at all.

There was supposed to be hamsters, he was sure of it. Whole bunches of hamsters and other pets. She had said she wasn’t sure about having a cat, but he knew she could convince her with just a few pleading smiles. And kids! Probably kids. He’d only caught a glimpse, but he was sure he saw baby names with his last name scrawled in her notebook when she dropped it today. Had it been today? His mind was getting foggy. It was hard to focus. 

He shivered, feeling colder than he had ever felt before in his life. Could he still feel his legs? It was going to be warm there, wherever they went. The sun shining bright above them, free of deadlines and obligations. Free to decide what they wanted to do with their lives. To hell with what his father wanted him to do.

Adrien coughed again and this time he tasted the coppery tang of blood on his tongue.

The vision before him came into focus. Ladybug. She was here, trying to get his attention. At least she was alright. Physically, at least. Tears were running down her face and it broke his heart. 

“Chat, you’re going to be alright, okay? You’re going to be alright!”

Even in his current state, he found the energy to shake his head. When he spoke, he was surprised both at how small his voice sounded and how much it hurt to speak. But he needed to get the words out. “S-sorry, bug. I think I finally ran…” he swallowed heavily, “...out of lives.”

She shook her head, watching him all the while. There was a bitter conflict in her face before she finally stood up. “I’ll be back for you, Chat. Please… don’t leave me.”

She was half turned to leave, yo-yo already in her hand, when he called out, “Wait! In case I don’t,” she glared at him and he didn’t say the words. He didn’t know how much time he had left and he didn’t want to waste it arguing. “I just started dating someone. I,” he coughed. More blood. “I need you to tell her… tell her I’m sorry and that I love her.”

Lips pressed into a thin line, Ladybug looked at him for a long moment before nodding. “If it makes you feel better, okay. Who is she?”

He forced a smile onto his face. “Thanks, bug. I knew I could count on you.” He had to take a moment when the pain washed over him like a wave. “Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Her mouth fell open, horror and shock plain on her face. She whispered in a tiny voice, “...Adrien?”

He didn’t have a chance to respond before a deadly calm settled over her and she sailed away.


	21. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare continues.

There was no banter. The steel villain never spoke beyond grunts and the screeching of metal on metal. She didn’t usually talk during a fight, but that never stopped Chat Noir from yelling, or punning, or doing any number of ridiculous things to get her attention. But the silence that reigned in this fight? It was maddening, pressing in all around her as a constant reminder that this fight had a time limit. Could she bring back the dead? Somehow, she doubted it - after all, that was always the rule of magic in the stories. No one cheats the reaper. 

The weight on her shoulders forged her mind into a fine, burning point. With such a razor focus, the battle ended fairly swiftly. The paint that the akuma was hiding in may have been tough, but it washed out easily enough. The hose lucky charm finally made her realize that. Of all the things in the world such a monster would be weak too, who would have thought water would have been the key?

If only she’d realized earlier.

She still had no idea what had driven the victim to be akumatized, since she hadn’t stuck around for the usual post-battle comforting talk. The moment after the Miraculous Cure was summoned, she was on the move to where she had left Chat Noir. 

Or rather, where she had left a dying Adrien. 

High on the rooftop, she found him. 

Too late.

\---------------------------

“Marinette! Marinette, wake up!” 

She blinked her eyes to beat back the exhaustion despite emerging from sleep and then had to blink them some more just to wipe away the tears. Once she could see again, she saw Tikki hovering above her, watching her with concern. 

It wasn’t real. Adrien was alive. She hadn’t been too late. Everything was fine. Marinette finally let herself breath as she sat up.

“Was it the same dream?” Tikki asked, settling down on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” She was appalled at how cracked and broken her voice sounded. How raw her throat was. “Was I doing it again?” Wordlessly, Tikki nodded. She’d never get any rest if her sleep was haunted by these nightmares. And it would be hard to hide the pain if she kept crying and screaming in her sleep.

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

“I don’t want to bother-”

“You two made a promise, remember?”

She glanced at her phone. “But it's so early…” Too early. Had she only been asleep for a couple hours?

“He would want you to call,” Tikki stated with absolute confidence. There was no way she’d be able to argue Tikki down from this, she could already tell. Since Tikki was usually pretty easy going, that spoke volumes on how worried she was.

“Okay, okay.” She dialed his number and as the phone rang, irrational fears leapt to the front of her mind. What if it wasn’t a nightmare, but what really happened? What if this was the dream and she was going to wake up in a world where she was too late? 

Her fears vanished like smoke before the wind when she heard a groggy voice on the other end pick up. “Hello? Marinette?”

“H-hey. It's me. I just… I wanted to hear your voice is all.”

There was a rustling on the other end as he went silent for a few moments. When he spoke again, he was a bit more alert and more concerned. “Nightmares again?”

She bit her lower lip to fight back against the tears and nodded before remembering he couldn’t see that. In quiet voice, she simply replied, “Yes.” 

“Give me a minute.” He moved the phone so she couldn’t make out quite what he was saying, though it sounded like he was arguing with someone. Plagg maybe? “I’m going to hang up, but we’ll talk soon, okay? Maybe ten minutes? Or do you want me to stay on the line?”

Lying through her teeth, she answered, “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’ll be back before you know it,” and just like that his voice was gone again and the darkness was creeping back in, despite Tikki’s best efforts. 

When he had said he’d be gone for ten minutes, it turned out he had lied. It took only five minutes before knock from above her startled her. When she opened the hatch, a pair of bright green eyes was looking down at her for a brief moment before he dropped through and landed on her bed. 

“Claws in.” A flash of green and Adrien was sitting in front of her in a baggy T-shirt and boxers. While she was still blinking away the spots, he slipped under the covers and lay down beside her. “Ready to go to bed, princess?”

She rolled over onto him and put her ear against his chest. Yawning, she said, “Promise me something, chaton?”

“Hm?”

“Never leave me again.” 

She was shook along with his chest when he laughed. “I promise.”

“Good. I’ll hold you to that.” She closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep to the sound of his heart beating. 

There were no more nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow we'll be making a jump, so don't be too alarmed.


	22. Aged Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few years down the line and Adrien is sitting in the crowd, watching Marinette's graduation.

It was a long time coming. The first step to the fulfillment of a dream Adrien’s beloved girlfriend had been working towards since lycee. He sat beside Tom and Sabine in the large crowd on a day as bright and sunny as he knew Marinette’s future was going to be. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” A voice called her name over the speakers.

It was hard to tell which of the three of them was most proud of her in this moment - sure, Tom and Sabine were her parents, but he had been there for the all nighters, and the last minute adjustments, and the overly demanding professors. Four years of living together, sharing victories and defeats, had brought them closer together than they had ever been before. When he saw her crossing the stage to receive her degree, it felt like the culmination of everything they’d worked towards, a vindication of all they’d gone through to reach that point.

A consolation for all they’d suffered, he thought while massaging an old ache in his chest. Nino liked to roll his eyes at Adrien about that, always saying that twenty three was way too young an age to be complaining about chronic aches and pains. Adrien would shake his head back at him, but it never sat right with him. But then, what else could he do? How could he tell Nino that it was from when he had nearly died in the fight against Hawkmoth? 

As Marinette returned to her spot, he reflected that at least one good thing had come from that day. Her graduation was the end of an era for them, true, but it was also the start of something much greater. She had already found good work while in university and now she could devote herself full time to the establishment of her brand. There was a void in the fashion scene of Paris over the past few years and Marinette was in a prime position to fill it. 

“Dear, is her fashion show still planned for the sixteenth?”

Adrien pried his eyes off the back of Marinette’s head as he turned his attention towards her mother. “Yes! Actually, we’ll be working on getting everything set up for the next couple weeks, even if there isn’t much left to do.” He shared a smile with her parents. “But you know how she is. If she keeps herself busy, she doesn’t worry as much. I just need to make sure she eats and sleeps every now and then.”

Sabine covered her mouth as she laughed. “That definitely sounds like her. Tell her we’ll definitely make it, even if we have to close the shop early. It’s not everyday we get to see our daughter’s first fashion show, after all!” Her brow furrowed in thought. “Adrien dear, is that common in the fashion industry? Getting a show right out of school?”

“No,” he shook his head, “but Marinette already had connections even before leaving lycee and her network has only expanded since then. It will be small, but I think it’ll make a big splash.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I certainly sounds like it will be a big day.”

Adrien smiled gently to himself. It certainly will be, though maybe not for the reasons Sabine and Tom were expecting.


	23. Fashion Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette basks in the aftermath of her first fashion show.

Marinette’s first fashion show had gone off without a hitch. Well, there had been some problems but Adrien had sworn up and down to her that minor problems like what they had faced was about par for the course. Being flush with pride at the success of her solo debut made the afterparty much easier to deal with. Even if it was still a little tedious meeting all these people and struggling to memorize faces and names. Every little thing could help propel her forward and she’d rather not rely on Adrien’s dwindling savings account any more than she had to.

Just as she was trying to say goodbye to… Jacque? Pierre? She couldn’t remember. Just as she was trying to say goodbye to one of the people attending her afterparty, a hand on her shoulder spun her around in place. 

“Woah, if it isn’t little Marinette! I knew it wouldn’t be long before you were a big name in the industry!” 

Marinette blinked up at the new voice and grinned. “Jagged!” She hugged her honorary uncle, adding after they took a step apart, “It’s been so long. I’m so happy you could make it!” True to form, famous rocker Jagged Stone was wearing his usual stage attire. It was different than the suit he’d worn back when she was in lycee, but that just made her smile more. His newest look was her first major commission and was one of the reasons she’d managed to already get her name out into fashion circles.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, love.” He finished his drink in one gulp and added, “Anyways, I have another commission I’d love to chat with you about.”

“Of course! What were you thinking?”

They talked business for a while longer before he left to make it to a dinner date with Penny. And speaking of loved ones…

A pair of strong arms snaked around her middle and a chin rested on her shoulder. “Hey, beautiful. How about you and me blow this party and go back to my place?”

Marinette laughed. Even after being together for years, Adrien was always trying to sweep her off her feet. “I dunno. There is plenty of important things to do here…”

He looked around at the nearly empty space, barren of anything left for them to do. “Unless you are in catering or cleaning, doesn’t look like you’re telling the truth. Besides,” he kissed her cheek as he released his hold on her, letting her turn around to face him, “there are plenty of even more important things to do back home.”

“Oh really? Then let’s go see what’s so important back home.” 

He bowed and held out his hand, which she took while giggling. 

\-----------------------------

As it turns out, Adrien’s idea of “important things,” was getting her home and on the couch, where he prompt gave her a massage for her tense shoulders and wrapped her in soft blankets. Under his tender care, she found herself relaxing - perhaps too much since she could barely keep her eyes open as she watched the title screen of the movie they were preparing to watch. She let out a grateful sigh. He knew exactly what she needed after the last few weeks of stress and tension. 

Behind her, she heard him moving around in the kitchen. She was too tired to speculate why he’d need to be poking around so much just for a couple wine glasses, but she was at least grateful that the noise was keeping her semi-awake. Somewhere back there, Tikki and Plagg were bickering, which was about average for them. Ever since being reunited, they were practically inseparable.

“Hey, Mari?”

“Hm…?” She jerks her head up slightly, stirred from almost falling asleep.

“You know how you’re awesome, right?”

“Haha, sure kitty.”

“And how you're the best thing that's ever happened to me?"

“Mmhmm…?”

"And how I love you more than life itself?"

"Yes, Adrien.”

"And how you're going to agree to marry me tonight?"

“Ye- wait, what?”

Marinette turned around towards the kitchen and there he was, on one knee in the threshold of their living room, and holding a ring box instead of wine glasses. She was no longer tired. No, she was now wildly, heart stoppingly awake. His hair is tousled from their long day and his eyes held a love so deep she almost thought she could swim in it.

Walking very carefully over to him, she gets down onto his level by getting on her knees and brings him into a kiss. While she found it hard to speak, she thought she got her answer across.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up - I'll be skipping to the honeymoon since a wedding would be a fanfic all on its own, and I already have ideas for an Adrienette wedding for another fic.


	24. Bridal Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette arrive at their honeymoon location

It was a long two and a half hour flight to Catania, Sicily and they spent most of it sleeping against each other. Life had been a whirlwind of activity in the two months since Adrien’s proposal in their living room, culminating in a stressful wedding reception attended by all their families that could make it and crashed by the media. It had been fun, to be sure, but Adrien didn’t want to do anything like that again anytime soon.

They’d stopped only briefly at their apartment. It was a great relief to be free of his tuxedo and he could tell that Marinette was feeling better after getting out of the dress of her own design. A brief shower and a change into a cute sundress for her and casual clothes for him later, and they were on the road again to catch the first class flight they were presently on, suitcases in tow.

A smile came to his face as he squeezed Marinette’s hand. He’d been telling her about a villa that his family owned in Sicily. A private beach that they could use for the next month. Peace and quiet, for the first time since… He didn’t know when, really. Ever since she got they’d gotten their miraculous, their lives had been one long stretch of hurrying and fighting and working.

Was nearly asleep when the pilot announced that they were about to make their landing. Beside him, Marinette was yawning and stretching. 

“Wakey wakey, kitty. There will be plenty of time for cat naps at this villa you’ve been telling me about.”

He shot a sleepy grin her way. “If you say so, my beautiful wife.”

Their banter was cut short by the landing of the plane and funneling out into the airport. It was a further half hour before they managed to reach the beach side house. By the time they had arrived they were only barely on their feet. Which made Adrien’s sudden smile all the more alarming.

“Ooh! Stop right there, princess! Don’t move!” He grabbed her luggage as well as his and rushed inside. 

He left her looking slightly confused before she leaned against a railing to watch the sunset below the shimmering waves crashing against the beach. Inside, he dropped their stuff off out of the way, while dragging Marinette’s clothes suitcase to the bed. He checked the bed to make sure it was clean and fully made before opening it, only to nearly choke as he noticed the amount of lacy underthings inside. 

“How did she hide all this…?” He mumbled to himself while grabbing the least racy thing there, which turned out to be a silk nightie the shade of the blush on his cheeks. While opening the bags, he found her favorite movie and turned on the television to start it. 

Her mind seemed somewhere else when he returned.

“So what was- ack!”

One arm under her legs and the other on her back, she couldn’t do much besides frantically wrap her arms around his neck as he carried her inside bridal style. Once she understood what he was doing, she started to laugh, bringing a wide grin to his face. Inside, he gently placed her on the bed.

“That was a bit extra, Adrien. Even for you.”

“Mhmm. And now you’re stuck with me.” He wiggled his fingers to show off his wedding ring. “No take backsies!”

Rolling her eyes but smiling all the while, she changed into the nightie he had chosen for her and got back into bed. While she got comfortable under the light and breezy sheets, he closed the door and joined her in bed. Soon enough, she was cuddled up against his chest, held close in his tender embrace as they drifted off to sleep to the smell of the ocean.


	25. Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette tries to get ontop of things after returning home from her honeymoon.

Their honeymoon passed by in absolute bliss and the two of them returned to their home feeling refreshed and renewed, ready to take on anything that their lives could throw at them.

Which turned out to be quite a lot. 

The moment Marinette got back into Paris she was buried in a sea of people trying to contact her for one thing or another, not to mention the numerous side projects and commissions she had already placed on the back burner. But she didn’t get this far by being easily dissuaded by overwhelming odds. She simply rolled up her sleeves and got to work wading through the quagmire and trying to at least get a list of everything she needed to do.

While she was working on just such a list, she was tugged backwards, letting out a squawk of protest as she fell into Adrien’s arms. “Hey! What’re you doing?”

He tapped the table she had almost walked right into while distracted. “You’re welcome, Bugaboo. Why don’t you sit down while writing that?”

“Pacing helps me think… Besides, I’m full of energy right now. I need to burn some of it off somehow.”

Letting her go, he returned to the kitchen. “Well, how about after we make lunch, we go out for a walk in the park? I know that really gets your creativity flowing.”

“Sounds great!” Marinette sat down at their kitchen table while Adrien did most of the cooking. It had been an… interesting couple months when they first moved in together since he didn’t have any domestic experience. There had been lots of take out ordered over the burned remains of a dinner, but he had gotten there eventually. 

She had almost completely zoned out when she heard Adrien say, “Hey, can you get the vegetables? I think they’re done, or pretty close to it.”

Still paying more attention to her list than the world around her, she reached out for the pan and-

Adrien caught her by the wrist. “Mari. Love of my life. Sun in my sky. The pan is _hot_.” He put on an oven mitt and transferred the steaming vegetables onto a plate with the rest of the meal. Smiling, he shook his head and asked, “So is this what I’m going to be looking forward to in this marriage? Keeping an eye on you while we’re together to make sure we don’t have any unplanned hospital visits?”

Marinette snorted. “You knew I was clumsy when you signed up, kitty, and you’ve been my protector ever since you put on your miraculous.” She shivered as she remembered the many close calls they’d had over the years, running a hand along his spine as she did so. How many times had he nearly lost him? “No matter how much I sometimes wish you weren’t.”

He turned around and brushed the hair out of her face. “Princess... you don’t have to worry about that any more. We’re safe now.”

“Well, safe as you can be,” Plagg said around the cheese in his mouth from his place near the ceiling. “Plenty of dangers just in the mundane world.”

“Plagg!” She heard the comforting sound of Tikki swatting Plagg’s arm. “Don’t worry them!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever…” 

Eyes sparkling with mirth, Adrien added, “What can go wrong with two immortal guardians watching over us?”

“I know, I know.” She sat down and got to work on eating her lunch, eyes still on her list.

“So is that your work schedule you’re figuring out?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Will you, uh, have be free around this time next week?”

Marinette looked up at Adrien, and the witty retort died in her throat when she saw how he was resolutely staring down at his food morosely. 

“Kitty, what’s wrong?”

“So I was invited to a charity event and I… didn’t want to go alone.” He looked up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I completely get if you are swamped with work and can’t go! I just don’t like when they catch me by myself.”

He didn’t need to explain who - while the worst of it had died down, some reporters still liked taking shots at Adrien when they got the chance. Her lips pursed into a thin line and she reached over to take Adrien’s hand in her own.

“It’s my turn to help protect you. We’ll go together.”

He looked at her with tender affection as he relaxed, tension leaving his shoulders. “Thank you, bugaboo. It means the world to me.” They shared a long moment of smiling at each other before he suddenly got up and reached into the refrigerator. He returned with two salads. “Now, _lettuce_ eat!”

“Nope, no I take it back. Is it too early for a divorce?”

Adrien simply cackled.


	26. Civilian Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette participate in a charity event.

Despite Adrien’s fears, the charity event was going reasonably well. His nerves had calmed a lot since they’d gotten there early that morning and a few reporters had already been by without so much as a negative word to Adrien. Maybe it was having Marinette close at hand at all times that was helping steady him, or maybe it was the many, many cats that he got to be around today. That was part of the reason he’d chosen the animal shelter charity, after all. 

Cats seemed to love him - even the oldest and the crankiest felines purred and played like kittens for him. Part of that he was sure was the miraculous marking him as kin to other cats, but he’d always been pretty good with animals. The image of him harmlessly playing with and grooming animals was something he needed to leverage if he wanted to finally put things behind him. 

He glanced over at Marinette cooing at a kitten she was cuddling and felt both his heart melt and a stab of irrational jealousy. He’d love to take one home with him, but Plagg didn’t like to share his space with other cats. Nor did he like being called a cat, but that just made Adrien only call him that when he isn’t around. 

Her giggles brought his attention back to her, where the kitten was doing its best to bat at her pigtails. “Are you sure we can’t get one, Adrien?”

Aware of the presence of other people here, he replied, “I don’t think the cat that we already have would like that much.”

“Well, maybe a hamster or two then? He can’t complain if it is even smaller than he is, right? Besides, I’m sure he’d appreciate having a friend, even if he’d be grumpy about it at first. I think they get lonely when we aren’t at home.”

True enough. Without a pressing need for them to transform at a moment’s notice, they could spend more time apart from their kwamis. It had been weird at first, but at least now he didn’t have to worry about Plagg getting into mischief when he was at a photoshoot. Besides, Adrien was sure that both Tikki and Plagg enjoyed being reunited and left to their own devices for the first time in… who knows how long. 

“You know what? That sounds like a great idea.” He took her hand in his. “It's always been my dream to get hamsters with the love of my life.” 

“You flirt.” She rolled her eyes, but the faint blush betrayed her.

He kissed the back of the hand he was holding before returning to his tasks. There were still people to greet, animals to groom, and still the potential of an endorsement ad for the shelter. Throwing himself into his work, he tried to forget the underlying reason he was here in the first place. The nosy reporters. The stain on his family name. A few hours passed before he was alone again with Marinette, safe from prying eyes.

“Lovebug?”

“Hm…?”

“I think it’s time we visited my father.”


	27. Marinette and the Agrestes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette joins Adrien for a long delayed visit with his father.

It had been about a year since the last time Adrien had spoken with his father. When he was asked by friends and family, he told them that it was because he was trying to distance himself from his father and the shadow that he had cast. But Marinette knew the truth of the matter. Despite the years of neglect, despite everything, Adrien still cared for his father. His heart was big and full of love, even for that man. Which just made how everything had turned out all the worse.

They allowed themselves to be pat down as they entered the prison for visitation hours. French law was surprisingly quiet on matters of magic-based villainy, so it had been difficult for the courts to decide what to do with the first supervillain to enter into the justice system. There had even been talk about digging deep in medieval law concerning witches and warlocks, but ultimately the senior Agreste had been tried and convicted on charges of terrorism and attempted larceny. Which may have been promoted to grand theft if only the courts could determine the value of magical artifacts capable of granting wishes. 

Regardless, Gabriel Agreste was now behind bars, where he would likely stay for the remainder of his natural life. Since then, his fashion empire had collapsed as investors fled in a panic, and his closest associates had gone under intense scrutiny by the media. Which included Adrien. She could never forget those months and what they did to him. The perpetual bags under his eyes. How hard it had been to bring a smile to his face. But eventually he was found innocent of any knowledge of his father’s dealings. But Nathalie was not so lucky and suddenly Adrien was stripped of even his cold and cobbled together family. The only mercy was the bank account in his name that his wages as model had been funneled into ever since he was twelve. 

Adrien fidgeted at her side and she took his hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He may have insisted he would be fine going alone, but Marinette wasn’t about to let him face this by himself. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing here, Bugaboo,” he admitted with a whisper.

“You had to face him eventually. Plus he is _technically_ your father, so I get that you don’t want to give up on him completely.”

“Do you think this was a mistake?” He was picking at his clothes with his free hand and holding tight onto her with the other, eyes fixed firmly on the unadorned steel table in front of them. 

“I’m not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough. The sooner we can put this behind us, the better.” 

The door into the visitation area opened and in walked Marinette’s former idol, Adrien’s father and the terror of Paris for six years. He still held himself with the same stoic dignity, but he’d aged quickly behind bars. Where once his hair had been merely streaked with grey, now it was almost entirely given over to the color, framing a face covered in wrinkles and made pale from lack of light. Fitting for a monster that had hid in shadows for so long. 

He took a seat opposite them, raising an eyebrow as he noticed their interlocking hands and the shiny rings on them. Not surprising, he would have to have an eye for detail to make it as far into fashion as he had. 

“I see you’ve finally made her an Agreste, Adrien.”

Her husband rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Well… not quite.”

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow as Adrien trailed off under his father’s hawk-like stare. “What do you mean? You either married her or you didn’t.” 

Marinette felt bitter anger bubbling up inside her. The first time he sees his son in how long and he is immediately back to interrogating him like he was a teenager again. “Actually, Adrien took my last name.” She cut Gabriel off by adding, “Since the Agreste name isn’t well liked in Paris right now.”

His glare was transferred to her, but she didn’t back down and merely met it with her own. This was her arch nemesis, after all - for both of them. The man who nearly killed Adrien when they were both fifteen, even if he didn’t know that. And here they were, having to chat with him as if he were just her father-in-law. 

“I… regret that this is the case. No matter. I assume you are not here to talk about the shadow that looms over our family name.”

“No. I just wanted you to know what’s happening in my life, and… make sure you were okay.”

Folding his hands neatly in front of him, straight backed, Gabriel replied, “Then let’s get started.”

It took about two hours for them to bring him up to speed with the state of their lives. Adrien did most of the talking - Marinette didn’t trust herself not to get combative with her father-in-law and Gabriel was reserved as always. Occasionally, the conversation would drift to Marinette’s work, or Adrien’s current line of employment, but mostly it was kept to casual topics. Eventually, their time was up and they stood to leave. 

“A moment, if you would, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?” Gabriel asked as they turned to leave.

Marinette nodded to Adrien, who stepped out of the room after one long look to the both of them. 

Before he could get his piece in, Marinette said, “You hurt him more than you can ever know.”

“Yes. I still believe my intentions were good, but I realize that…” he sighed. “I didn’t want to get him involved in any of this. It was all for his benefit. But none of that matters now.” He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. His looked back at her. “Please… watch out for my son. There is no one left to protect him.”

Marinette set her jaw and shook her head. “That was your problem. Adrien doesn’t need protecting. At least, not your kind of protection. You can rest assured that Adrien is finally surrounded by people who love him. Goodbye, Mr. Agreste.” She turned and left, never looking back at him.

Adrien was waiting for her just outside. “What did he want?”

“Nothing important. C’mon, kitty. Let’s get some ice cream, my treat.”


	28. Adrien Dupain-Cheng

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien reflects on the direction his life has taken.

When Adrien had been visiting his father in prison, he’d gently steered the conversation away from the topic of what exactly Adrien did for a living. This was mostly because Adrien didn’t work. Well, he did, as a stay-at-home husband, but nothing that he got paid for. While he wasn’t ashamed of that, and was perfectly happy to play the role of domestic house maker, he knew that his father would not approve. Even now, he couldn’t help but try to conform to his father’s expectations. 

After having almost every move of his life planned out for him in advance, Adrien floundered when everyone responsible for that planning was very suddenly taken out of his life. It made him ask the hard questions about his life - who was he and what did he want to do? He still didn’t have the answers he needed, but he did his best in the meantime to make sure Marinette had a home she could return to after a long day at work. Cleaning the house. Taking care of the hamsters. Feeding the kwamis. And, right now, cooking dinner so it was ready by the time she got home.

As if summoned by him thinking about her, the front door opened and Marinette stepped in, looking as exhausted as usual. She smiled weakly at him as she kicked off her shoes and took a seat in the kitchen. “Hey, Adrien. How was your day?”

“Probably not as exciting as yours.” He put a bowl of soup in front of her, feeling satisfied by the contented she let out as she smelled it. Seated opposite her, he rested his chin on his hand and watched. “So tell me how today went. Did they give you the trouble you thought they would?”

As he listened to Marinette talk about the upcoming fancy party that all the big names would be attending, he felt the same familiar quiet pride build up inside of him. Her drive and passion for her work was something he had never really experienced before. He certainly never felt it for modeling. Simply being near her was enough to get him fired up by proxy. She really was something else. Someone he could plant a future around. Always there for him when he needed support, even when the rest of his life was crumbling around him. 

Despite what Marinette had said yesterday, it wasn’t just shame in his original last name that prompted him to take hers. It was his pride in her and all that she could be that had really motivated him. Just like when they were Ladybug and Chat Noir, he was willing to follow her, no matter where she lead.


	29. Bien Joue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien return home after a long day.

“Pound it!” They cheered, voices already on the way out as they weakly fist bumped. The party had been a success as far as she was concerned. Marinette had spent hours getting to know her peers in the field and meeting more prospective clients. It had certainly helped to make the dress that she wore to the party - it had basically been a walking advertisement for her. No doubt this would help her along in her career.

Thus, while she certainly couldn’t regret going, that sense of accomplishment didn’t do anything for the aches and pains all over her body from being on her feet in high heels for so long. The only thing she was looking forward to now was getting out of the dress she had spent so much time making. 

“Wow, you guys look awful. Like, really terrible.” A tiny voice commented from a nest in the corner of the room. 

“Plagg! They’ve had a long night and they don’t need your snarky comments.”

“Oh, lighten up, Sugarcube! I think they could use the conversation. Besides, there’s no use sugar coating the obvious.”

As their kwamis continued to bicker, Marinette closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders. She’d definitely be feeling tomorrow come the morning. At least a storm was moving in tonight, so she doubted she’d be leaving the house anyway.

“How are you feeling, Adrien?” A muffled noise came from the bed and she looked over to see him laying face down, almost motionless on the mattress, his suit askew and rumpled. The very vision of a messy beauty. She sat down beside him and ran her fingers through his hair, which drew an appreciative groan out of him. Tonight, he’d really dialed up the charm and did his best to talk her up to practically everyone at the party. It was easy to forget that Adrien had been raised in that wealthy world of fashion, but today was a sharp reminder of his former life. She whispered to him, “I appreciated everything you did for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better hype man.” She kissed him on the crown of his head and slipped off her heels. “I’m going to take a bath. You should probably change out of that suit before you go to bed.”

She could tell he was tired because he didn’t even try to playfully convince her to let him join. Instead, he simply groaned and continued to lay motionless. After the bathroom door was shut behind her, she started running the water and got out of her clothes - itself a difficult task with how much her body was protesting. Once she had submerged herself in the bubbly water, she let out a sigh of contentment as the heat melted away the aches and her eyes fluttered shut.

“How’d the party go?” Marinette jumped as Tikki phased into the room. 

“Gah!” She shot a glare at her kwami as she giggled. “Tikki! Knock or something first, please?” Marinette settled back into place as Tikki landed on the side of the bathtub. “It was good, but…”

“But…?” Tikki prompted, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Well… It was weird, seeing Adrien like this. I forget sometimes that he’s from that life style of money, high fashion, and power. He’s just… not like that most of the time.” She jerked forward. “And don’t get me wrong: I love how he went above and beyond for me today. But… have I taken him away from where he feels most at home? Living in a small apartment rather than a giant mansion? Cooking and cleaning for himself rather than having hired help?”

Tikki smiled at her. “I don’t think he would have married you if he felt that way. Besides, do you think he’d consider living with the love of his life a downgrade?”

She conceded the point with a nod of her head. “Still… Even after all these years, I feel like I’m still learning new things about him.”

“Of course! We never stop learning and love never stops growing, Marinette. This isn’t the end of your story - it is only the beginning.”

Scooping her kwami up with both hands, she hugged Tikki close to her face. “Thanks, Tikki. So how was it having the house to yourselves?”

Tikki rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t get me _started_ on that stinky sock.”

After a while longer of basking in the warmth of the water while listening to her kwami rant, Marinette eventually emerged and got into her pajamas for the night - a borrowed shirt and a pair of boy shorts. She couldn’t help but snort in laughter when she saw Adrien hadn’t even moved an inch from where she left him.

“Kitty?” He groaned in response. At least he was still awake. “Kitty, you can’t sleep in your suit. You’ll only feel worse in the morning.” Another stubborn groan. “You also can’t cuddle if you’re still in that thing. Too uncomfortable.”

That got him up, begrudgingly. She settled into bed, laying on her side as she closed her eyes. After about ten minutes, she heard him return and he snuck under the sheets. A strong arm wrapped around her abdomen and he pulled himself closer to her.

“Good night, kitty.”

“Night, bugaboo.”


	30. Us Against the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien has a nightmare.

_It was quiet, except for the sound of a piano playing a familiar tune. Adrien’s fingers deftly danced around the keys, muscle memory carrying him through yet another practice of the same old songs. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just barely make out his mother, blurry and unfocused. Standing closer was his father, watching as he always did - dispassionately._

_A tricky part came up in the song and he tuned out all distractions as he worked his way through it. A flicker of a smile graced his lips as he continued uninterrupted through it. If he had failed, then his father would surely have let him know. His eyes glanced around the room in his field of view, but he found no one. Instead, a pair of hands rested heavily on his shoulders. They caused discomfort not only from their weight but from how icy cold they were, as if they were draining the warmth out of him. In contrast, his neck burned as if on fire from the unblinking stare he father had locked onto him._

_A long, uncomfortable period passed in that limbo. Adrien, too scared to do anything else, simply turned all his attention to the music, struggling to ignore the chill and the heat and the weight. He didn’t know how much time passed - there was no clock he could see, no phone on hand, no timer of any sort to count the seconds, the minutes, the hours._

_When he finally felt comfortable enough to look around, ceasing his song, he realized he was all alone. His windows were barred. There was no door out of his barren room. The last echoes of the piano’s singing died into silence. He turned back to the instrument, if only to make some sort of sound, only to notice that it too was gone._

_He opened his mouth to cry out, but makes no noise._

\------------------------------------

Adrien woke up laying on his back in a cold sweat. The room was wreathed in darkness, with only the gentle glow coming in from under the bathroom door providing any illumination. He closed his eyes and listened. He realized he was panting heavily and tried to slow himself down. The early morning rain was coming down hard outside, wind rushing past their windows as it swirled through the city. Beside him, Marinette’s breathing was even and deep, the steady pace of the sleeping. Rolling over, he buried his face in the back of her neck and inhaled deeply. The faint aroma of the perfume she wore last night still lingering - strawberries and vanilla. 

“Adrien…?” Her voice groggy from slumber as she shuffled around to face him. “Are you okay?”

What was he supposed to say to that? That he was broken, possibly past fixing? 

She took his silence for an answer. “Another nightmare then.” She sounded slightly more awake, but he could only make out the outline of her face as she sat up to look at him. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I just want you to know: It's us, kitty. You and me. Always.” She fumbled around in the dark before finding his hand and squeezing it tightly. “We'll get through this.” 

There was a glimmer of tears in his eyes as he nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself. He croaked out, “Thank you. For everything.”

He scooted closer while she was still sitting up, wrapping himself around her waist as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

Beside him, on his bedside table, there was a framed picture. Two fourteen year olds madly in love with each other - even if one didn’t know it yet - eating dinner after having just seen a musical. 

The distant rumble of thunder carried them off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And that's it. We have arrived at the end of Clap of Thunder. I hope you enjoyed this journey that you've taken with me this month. I will be participating in Marichat May, so if you're sad about the end, then don't worry - more stories are on the way.


End file.
